Lock-out for party-line telephones.



W. F. WAGNER & W. E. SHIELS.

LOCK-OUT FOR PARTY LINE TELEPHONE-S.

urmoumn nun 23.26. 1908.

914,468. Patented Mar. 9, 1909.

W. I. WAGNER 8: W. E. SHIELS. LOOK-OUT FOB. PARTY LINE THE-PHONES.

APPLIGATION FILED FEB. 26, 1908.

Patented Mar. 9, 1909.

ail.

2 SHEETS-SHEET B.

INVENTORS @YMYM WITNESSES: 6- 0 m e yam UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM F. WAGNER, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, AND WILLIAM E. SHIELS, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO THE GRAVITY LOCKOUT COMPANY, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

LOCK-OUT FOR PARTY-LINE TELEPHONES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 9, 1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM F. WAG- NEH and lVILLlAM E. Sinnns, citizens of the United States, and residents of Detroit, in the county of lVayne and State of Michigan, and Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, respectively, have invented a certain new and useful Lock-Out for Party- Line Telephones; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appcrtains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

()nr invention relates to telephone apparatus, and particularly to devices for use in party-line systems whereby when one telephone on a party-line is in use all other telephones are automatically cut out of service so that no one on the line can listen or talk to the party first to take his receiver from the hook, except at the will of such first party.

The object of our invention is the provision of a simple and highly efiic'ient device of this class, which can be used in connection with any central energy telephone plant, can be tested at the station where it is installed without going to another instrument installed on the same line, and which does not need an additional condenser in the telephone instrument, as is necessary with other devices of this nature, but is operated by the condenser of the instrument in connection with which it is installed, thus materially enhancing the practicability and commercial value thereof.

In the use of the lock-out devices heretofore employed considerable difiiculty has been experienced due to the circuits in which they are disposed being permanently grounded. An object of our invention is to obviate this difliculty by the provision of a device of this character, which eliminates the grounding of any telephone on the line when all of the receivers of such telephones are on their hooks, and which also releases the grouml from a telephone when the re oeiver is off the hook and the party is talking.

Further objects as well as the operation,

construction, and arran ement of the parts of the invention are in ly described in the following specification, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,-

Fignro 1 is a diagram of a party-line circnit with three telephones bridged across the main. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of a. phone box from which the receiver hook projects illustrating the relative arran ement of parts of our invention therein. i s. 3 and 4 are side and top views, respective y, of the electro-magnet and armature emp oyed in connection with our invention, with the associated contact parts, and Figs. 5 and 6 are side and end views, respectively, of a modified form of the electro-magnet and armature.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the usual telephone box through one side of which the receiver-hook 3 projects, and 3 the receiver. The receiver-hook is connected in the usual or any convenient manner to thecircuit wires to adapt it to open and close the circuit as it is lowered or raised.

Projecting outwardly from the rear wall of the box 1, as from a wall piece 4-, is a magnet 5 preferably of horse-shoe form, which is of suitable shape to receive the energizing coil 6 with the ends of its core secured to the legs of the magnet. An armature-plate T is pivoted at one end to one pole of the. ma 'net, as at 8, and has its other end extended in position to adapt it, when raised, to have contact with the other pole end so that it coiiperates with the magnet to form a closed magnet circuit around th coil. A s1ningfingcr,9 )rojects from the inner end of the receiverook in posi-.

lion to have contact with the free end of tho armature 7 to canw said armature to be held in closed contact with the magnet when the receiver is on its hook, as shown. Contit-(ling the cars 10 and 11, which project laterally from the magnet top and armature, respectively, in superimposed relation, is the boll or pin 12, which has its lower end threaded or otherwise adjustahly secured in the lower ear 1] and its upper end working loosely through the car H) and headed without such ear to permit the armature and magnet to have limited relative movements. larried near the rear end of the magnet, as by a plate 13 secured thereto, is an insulation block 13 from which the two sets of contact springs 14, 14 and 15, 15 insulatingly project with their free ends disposed contiguous to the pin 12. The freeends of the outer springs 14 and 15 project beyond the ends of the inner springs 14' and 15 to adapt them to be engaged by insulation buttons or projections 16 and 16', respectively, which are adjustably carried by the pin 12. The buttons or projections 10 and 16 are so relatively adjusted on the pin 12 and coact with the spring ends in such manner that a longitudinal movement. of the pin in one direction causes or permits one set of springs to make and the other to break contact, and vice versa when the pin is moved in the other direction.

It is ap 'iarent that the manner of coaction of the buttons to and 1G with the springs 14 and 15 may either be such as to cause positive movements of the springs in both directions of movement of the pin,or positive movements of the springs in only one direction of movement of the pin while the movements of the springs in the other direction are influenced by the spring action thereof. In the arrangement of the parts shown. the dropping of the free end of the armature T and attached pin 12 causesthe upper set of springs 14;, l t to make contact and the lower set to. to to break contact. and vice versa when raised to form a closed magnetic ci uit with the magnet .3.

In Figs. and 13, which shows a modified form ol' the electro-magnet and armature, l? designates the magnet, which has its poles extending horizontally, to the energizing coil. which has the rear end of its core pivoted within the magnet to the rear end thereol. as at 15'. and l!) the lower end of the armature, which is fixed to the outer end of the coil core and has its lower end angled to make contact with the end of the lower pole of the magnet when the coil is raised on its pivot. as shown. Pivoted t0 the armature piece 19, as at 19, is the upper armature piece 21). which. when the coil is in elevated position is intended to have contact with the upper pole end to cooperate with the lower piece ill to form a closed magnetic circuit around the coil. The armatnre piece it) has its upper end preferably angled to engage 0\ er the top of the upper pole piece. and its lower end provided with an arm 10' with which the spring-linger ll olthe l'tt'cl '|t"l| uil\' coatis to hold the coil elevated and the armature piece :30 in contact with its pole when the recciver is on its hook. The angling of the end of the armature piece 20 over the pole end tends to support the coil in elevated position, and a spring 21 encircles the pivot of said artna ture piece and acts on the arm 20 thereof to throw such angled end out of engage ment. with the pole when the spring-finger t) lowers, thus permitting the outer coil end to lower and the armature pieces to move therewith out of contact with their respective pole The two sets of Contact springs 22, 22' and 23-23 project from an insulation block 24. which is carried at the rear end of the coil-core at one side thereof, and lie alon side of the coil, as shown. Contact is alternately made and broken between the springs of the two sets as the coil is lowered and raised due to the action thereon of the pins 25 and 25'. These pins are made of any suitable insulating material and art threaded or otherwise adjustably secured to oars 26 projecting laterally from the pole pieces of the magnet, the lower pin 25 hav ing its inner end projected upwardly through an opening in the lower spring 22) so as to coact with its companion to break contact between them when the coil lowers. and the upper pin 25 having its inner end projected downwardly through openings in both springs 22, 3'2 and headed to engage the under side of the lower spring of the set whereby to move it against its tension in contact with its companion when the coil and attached parts are lowered.

it will be apparent that the armature in both constructions shown operate by gravity to move to open position relative to their magnets when the magnets become dead. thus providing what may be termed a gravity lock out device. This movement of the armature may. if desired. be accelerated by the action of a spring or other suitable means apparent to those skilled in the art.

2? designates a push-button. which pro jcct's through the side of the box 1. with its inner end in contact with the free end of a spring contact 2R. This spring is secured to the interior of the box in a. suitable manner between two contact pieces 25 and 30. from which it is insulated. and is intended to normally have contact with one piece and to be moved to break such contact and make Contact with the other piece when the button is pushed.

Referring to Fig. l. A. it and designate three party-line telephones. each ol which has its leads a and (i connected in the usual manner to the main line wires c and (I. respectively. the former of which line wires leads from the positive side and the latter from the negative side of the battery c of the plant. The po itive lead (1 passes to the transmitter f and one coil of the induction coil 7/ in the usual manner and connects to the contact spring ll in the in trument. When the springs ll and ll are in contact a circuit is closed through the wire 1': to the contact spring L'R. associated with the push button '37. thence through the cotttachpiecc it. when the spring 2h i in contact therewith. and the wire 1 connected to said piece. The wire connects with one of the ontacts of the receiver-hook :5 and the lead (1 to the other ounce contact in the usual manner, whereby a lowering of the hook breaks and a raising thereof closes connection between said wires. It is thus seen that the primary or talking circuit has in series the battery 0, main line wires 0, (l, lead a, transmitter f, the primary of the induction coil g, contacts 14, 14, wire it, contacts 28, 29, wire 1', receiver 2 and lead b. The wire 2' also has a branch leading to one end of the coil 6 of the electro-magnet. The other end of said coil is connected by a wire 7' to the spring-contact 15 associated with the electroanagnet, while the companion spring 15 is connected to the ground wire is, thus forming a closed grounding cir' cuit when the springs 15, 15 have contact, The contact piece 30, associated with the push-button 27, is attached to the wire I, which connects with the lead wire I) and also with the ground wire is, as at 0, and has the condenser m and bells n in series therein,

thus forming a ringing circuit which may be thrown in series with the talking circuit to allow the voice currents to )ass to the condenser m by moving the push-button 27 toelose the contact 28-30. The secondary circuit of the telephone comprises the usual receiver 3, wires P and the secondary of the induction coil g.

The operation of our invention is as followsz-Party A, wishing to call party B takes his receiver from the hook and. asks central for such par ty in the usual manner. As the outer end ofthe receiven hook raises on being relieved of the weight of the receiver, the primary circuit between the wire 2' and lead wire I) is closed in the usual manner, and the armature 7 is permitted to drop by gravity from contact with the dead magnet 5 due to the lowering of the spring linger 9, the contact between the receiver hook and lead 5 taking place before the contact 15-45 can be broken. As the armature lowers the pin 12 is drawn down therewith and ellects or permits a movement of the spring 15 to break contact with its companion, and a movement of the spring 14 to make contact with its companion, thus closing the prii'nary circuit and opening the grounding circuit of such telephone. Should any other party now take his receiver from its book his telephone is instantly and automatically grounded due to a current flowing l'rom buttery r through a at station A, 14, ll. 52H. .29, 1'. 2 and I to main (1 and back from the mnin line wire (I, through his lead wirc 7/, receiver-hook 2, wire E, coil wire contacts l5, in lo the ground wire is, as shown In diagram l). The energizing ot' the magnet .3 by llw rm rent passiing through its roll holds th :n'nmlun- T to it and holds the pin 12' elevated so that contact is maintained bi-twccn lhc rounding springs 15, 1.3 and broken bclwz-rn the main circuit contucls 14, 14. In orduto allow the party called to come in on the line, A as soon as he has given his directions to central, presses the push-button 27, thus throwing the spring 28 into contact with the contactpiece 30 and releasing the dry or negative side of the battery from the line so that the other parties on the line are released from the ground and the armature of any one of them free t9 drop when the associated receiver is taken from its hook, as above described for A when he ,came in on the line. The button 27 is maintained in pushed position until the party called comes in on the line, which the party calling is able to tell by reason of the voice currents passing through the condenser m of his telephone, after which he releases the button, so that the two can talk while all others are effectually locked out. Should A desire to call a party on any other line the action would be the same, except that he would not have to 'push the button to let the partyin. As soon as party called takes down his-receiver, all other parties on line are locked out, as above described.

It is apparent that our lock-out apparatus is exceedingly simple in its construction, operation, and instalment, thus enhancing its practicability and commercial value; that it does not necessitate the use of an additional condenser in the telephone instrument, as is necessary with other apparatus of this nature, and that it needs no adjustment after being placed in the instrument.

We wish it understood that we do not desire to be restricted to the exact details of construction and arrangement of the parts shown and described, as obvious modifications will occur to persons skilled in the art.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,-

1. in a party-line telephone, a primary circuit having make and break contacts therein, a ground circuit having make and break contacts therein, means movable to make contact between one set of contacts and break contact between the ot r set of contacts, or vice versa, a receiv r-hook cooperating with said means to hold the rimary circuit contacts open and the groun circuit contacts closed when the outer end of the hook is lowered, said means being free to move to release the round when no other telephone in the line is in use and magnetically controlled to maintain a position which closes the ground circuit and opens the primary circuit when another telephone in the line is in use.

2. In a party-line tele bone, a primary circuit provided with ma e and break contact parts, a ground circuit provided with make and break contact parts, an electroinagnet disposed in said ground circuit, an

lee

armature associated with the eleotm-mqmt I00 and insulatingly coacting with the primary and ground circuit contact parts to adapt it when moved to break contact between one set and make contact between the other set or vice versa, a receiver-hook having an inner end part which when elevated coacts with the armature to hold it in closed position with its magnet with the primary circuit contacts broken and the ground circuit contacts made, said armature being mag netically influenced to maintain such closed position when another telephone in the line is in use.

3. In a part -line telephone, a primary circuit provide with make and break contact parts, a ground circuit leadin therefrom and provided with make and break contact parts, mechanically and magnetically controlled means adapted when In one position of its movement to make contact between one set and break contact between the other set of said parts and vice versa when in its other position of movement, said means being magnetically free to move to release the ground and close the primary cir' cuit contact parts when no other telephone in the line is in use and magnetically controlled to maintain a position which closes the ground circuit and o ens the primary circuit when another teleplione in the line is in use.

4. In a party-line telephone, a primary circuit and a ground circuit each having make and break contact parts, a member movable to open one circuit and close the other and vice versa, and mechanical means and magnetic means adapted to act on said member to hold it in position to close the ground circuit and open the primary circuit, said magnetic means being energized when another telephone in the line is in use.

5. In a party-line telephone, a primary and a ground circuit each having make and break contact parts, an electro-magnet in series with the ground circuit, an armature associated with the magnet and adapted when in closed contact therewith to maintain the primary contacts in open and the ground contacts in closed position, a receiver-hook having part coacting with the armature to hold it in closed contact with the magnet when the outer end of the hook is lowered, said armature being free to move by gravity out of closed contact with the magnet when the outer, end of the hook is raised and no other telephone in the line is in use and magnetically influenced to maintain such contact" when another telephone in the line is in use.

6. In a party-line telephone, a primary and a ground CIICUlt each having make and break contact parts, a membermovable to open one circuit and close the other and vice versa, mechanical means and magnetic means adapted to act on said member to hold it in position to close the ground circuit and open the primary circuit, said magnetic means being energized, when another telephone in the line is in use, and means for releasing the ground from the telephone being called.

T. in a party-line telephone, a primary and a ground circuit each having make and break contact parts, a member movable to open one circuit and close the other and vice vcrsa, means acting on said member when the telephone is not in use whereby to close the ground circuit and open the primary circuit, magnetic means acting on said member to maintain it in such closed ground and open primary circuit position when another telephone in the line is in use, and manually controlled means for relasipg the ground from the telephone of the party called.

8. In a party line telephone, a primary and a ground circuit each having make and break contact parts, an electro-magnet in series with the ground circuit, an armature adapted to form a closed magnetic circuit with the magnet and having parts. which cooperate with said contacts to maintain the ground circuit closed and the primary circuit open when the armature is in closed position and vice versa when the armature is in open position, said electro-magnet bein energized when any other telephone in the line is in use, means which automatically acts on the armature to maintain it in closed position when its telephone is not in use, and means-for releasing the ground from any other telephone in the line.

b. In a party-line telephone, a talking and a ground circuit each having make and break contact parts, a member movable to open one circuit and close the other and vice versa, mechanical means and magnetic means adapted to act on said member to hold it in position to close the ground circuit and open the talking circuit; said magnetic means being energized when any other telephone in the line is in use, a bell-circuit having a condenser in series therein, and means movable to eifect a releaseof the ground from all other telephones in the line and to throw the ringing circuit in series with a portion of the talking circuit to al ow the voice currents to pass to the condenser.

10. In a party-line telephone, a primary and a ground circuit each having make and break contact parts, an armature movable to open one circuit and close the other and vice versa, mechanical and magnetic means adapted to act on the armature to hold it in position to open the primary circuit and close the ground circuit, said niechanical means acting in such manner when the telephone is not in use, and said magnetic means being energized when any other telephone in the line is in use, a ringing circuit, call-bells and a condenser in series in the ringing circuit, and a switch adapted to ground circuit. make and break contact parts 1n each circuit. an armature coiiperab mg with said contact parts and movable to.

open the primal) contacts and close the ground contacts and rice versa, :1 receiverhook adapted, when its outer end is down, to hold the armature in position to close the ground contacts and open the primary contacts, an electro-mag'net disposed in the ground circuit and adapted, when energized, to hold the armature in position to close the ground contacts and open the primary contacts. said magnet being; energized when any other telephone in the line is in we and said arn'iature being free to drop by gravity to open the ground circuit and close the primary circuit when the outer end of the associated receiver-hook raises and no other telephone in the line is in use, and means operated by party calling for relieving the ground from every other telephone inthe line.

12. In a party-line telephone, a primary circuit. and a. ground circuit each having make and break contact parts, a member movable to open one circuit and close the other and vice versa, mechanical means and magnetic means adapted to ently on said member to hold it in position to close the ground circuit and open the primary circuit, said mechanical means being automatically released from said member when the telephone rcccirer is taken from its hook and said magnetic means being encrgized when another telephone in the line is in use, and manually controlled means for releasing the ground from the telephone of a party called and enabling the party calling to tell when a party comes in on the line.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto signed our names to this specification in the Inesence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM F. WAGNER; WILLIAM E. SHIELS.

lVitnesses (oRNELL SOIIREIBER, VILBER A. OWEN.

act independ- 

